March 2006

March 09, 2006

I don't usually pay a great deal of attention to ads that appear in Yahoo mail. Primarily because I only use my Yahoo address for websites that require an email address that I have no interest in hearing from. But today as I was deleting the bulk folder of stock tips, free computers, candy, department store gift cards, gasoline, assorted male enhancement products and promises of everlasting love from Russian girls I noticed this on an ad for a company that promises to lower my mortgage payments.

Ok........

I've never had the least inclination to sell my soul to the devil and there's not a snowballs chance in hell that I'd refinance with him either - even if he's playing a guitar and has a rose in his mouth.

Just because you think something is cute and you can animate it doesn't mean it's a good idea to use it.Get thee behind me Satan.

Social networks have been around as long as humans have been socializing. Duh. But technology has ignited social networking like gasoline on a fire. Like no generation before them today’s teens and college students use technology to express themselves, interact with one other and discover what's cool.

A report from eMarketer looks at the reasons why social networking is the hottest thing on campus, verging on obsession. There are upwards of 15 million university Internet users in the US alone.

Marketers see this trend as a tremendous opportunity. But hold the cell phone. The new generation of consumers are jaded. They’ve seen and heard it all before. They’re tired of phony posing and hype. Because of this, using social networks as an ad vehicle is a bit like walking through a minefield. The potential for backlash is tremendous.

In “A Christmas Story,” Ralphie is excited when his “Little Orphan Annie” secret decoder-ring in the mail. He’s finally a member of Annie’s Secret Society. The first secret message he decodes is “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

Ralph responds, “A crummy commercial!” That’s one of the reasons I’ve resisted placing ads on this blog. For a hundred fifty dollars a year I’ll provide an ad free zone (self-promotion notwithstanding)

There’s a fine line between being relevant and being a clueless pest in a world where the users are in charge. How many times would you invite someone to a party who constantly bothered your other guests with the benefits of multi-level marketing?

On the other hand the more opportunities you give your customers to network the stronger the connections to your customers become. Let your customers share their experiences with others online.

Rather than just showing before and after pictures of treatment, an orthodontist could allow patients to share their story of improved self-esteem, or the first date after the braces came off. Harley Davidson dealers with websites should provide an on-line page for members of their HOG group to share stories and pictures.

I’m not sure customers are becoming more vocal, but they have a much larger platform than ever before. People love to talk and even if only a handful of customers participate you’re ahead of the game. It won’t be long before your customers mention their posts to friends and refer them to your site.

March 06, 2006

If you’re in the Radio Business and aren’t reading Mark Ramsey’s “Radio Marketing Nexus,” you’re missing out on one of the most insightful guys in the business. His recent post, “How To Embarrass Yourself” is right on the money.

The typical “Tween” spends less than 40 minutes a day listening to the radio. So the likely hood that these kids are listening to FM on their iPods is a real stretch. The real issue is how a radio station can make itself relevant to its audience. 40 minutes a day is pathetic.

There are storm clouds on the horizon and everyone from advertisers to agencies to radio stations knows it. But the lessons apply to all businesses. Just because you say it with authority doesn’t make it true. Hype and BS are poor substitutes for realism and gritty truth consumers demand.

It seemed every time I got online in the weeks leading up to the Winter Olympics I’d see an ad asking me to join Bode. I didn’t know Bode and the graphics pegged my hype-o-meter, so I decided that Bode could probably do just fine without me. I wasn’t surprised when the reports of Bode’s meltdown started coming in from Torino.

Bode’s disastrous performance probably won’t cost him his Nike endorsements in the short term. But unless he starts to walk the walk and quits believing his press releases he’ll be washed up as a spokesperson in no time.

Look around you’ll find there’s a new societal mindset beginning to take hold. The days of bad boy superstars like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors are fading. The new generation is tired of the hype and demands realism.

Which brings me to another Olympian I’d never heard of before (outside of college football I’m not much into televised sports), speed skater Joey Cheek.
The morning after he won his gold medal in the 500 meters I heard a bit of his news conference where he donated the $25,000 bonus he received to an organization called Right to Play which helps children in war-torn countries develop and grow through sports. The organization believes kids who learn to play together will someday live together in peace.

Cheek also won a silver in the 1,000 meters and another $15,000. He donated that money as well. He then challenged corporations to match his gift. So far, Right to Play has received more than $300,000. Cheek has asked that his donation fund programs for refugees of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

This month, Cheek is going to Zambia as a Right to Play athlete ambassador.

During his conference Cheek said, "The Olympics is a very selfish pursuit. You know, I wake up every morning and I ask myself how can I focus all my energies on what I do so that I can be the best in the world? After years of this and after years of other people sacrificing so that I can be the best in the world, I feel that it is imperative to give something to someone who's less fortunate than myself."

Cheek’s a class act. His teammates did well electing him to be the U.S. flag bearer in the closing ceremonies.

Your prospective customers want to know who you really are and what you believe in. If you haven’t already done so, reduce the hype in your advertising and let others see you as you really are.

A few weeks ago I reported on the record number of U.S. based web searches. In case you are still among the unconvinced the numbers for January are out. It’s a new month and a new record. 5.7 billion searches. Read Report.

Every day you go without a web site is another day of lost potential. But before you try to build your own site or hire your best friend’s son or daughter to build a website – breath into a brown paper bag and consider your options.

Surfing is instinctual not calculated. Your site either makes a quick impression or you don’t. If you don’t you lose. I am not an expert on Websites but I know three Wizard Of Ads® Partners who are. Depending on what you need to accomplish and your budget may I recommend contacting one of the following:

Brian and Jeff Eisenberg’s client list is a who’s who of major companies including: GE, Leo Schachter Diamonds, Overstock.com, Disney, NBC Universal, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Volvo International to name a few. These guys have written the book on “Persuasion Architecture” (literally) and forget more about how to make websites work than just about anyone.

Dave Young is a student of the Eisenberg’s and a licensed Persuasion Architect®. He works with smaller companies and may be a bit more accessible than Future Now but Dave’s work is impressive.

Finally, Thomas Tucker at Hover Studios has figured out a way for just about anyone to affordably improve their web presence.

The web knowledge of these Wizard of Ads® Partners is enough to make your head spin – but throwing money away on an ineffective web site will give you a headache.

If you contact them – tell them Uncle Walter K sent you – no one can pronounce Koschnitzke.

March 02, 2006

A new survey by The ACT (the college entrance test folks) finds that only 51 percent of students showed they were ready to handle the reading requirements of a typical first-year college course. Read Story

King of Swamp Castle: Guards, make sure the prince doesn't leave this room until I come and get him.Guard #1: Not to leave the room... even if you come and get him.Guard #2: [hiccups]King of Swamp Castle: No, no. *Until* I come and get him.Guard #1: Until you come and get him, we're not to enter the room.King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no. You *stay* in the room, and make sure *he* doesn't leave.Guard #1: And you'll come and get him.Guard #2: [hiccups]King of Swamp Castle: Right.Guard #1: We don't need to do anything, apart from just stop him entering the room.King of Swamp Castle: No, no. *Leaving* the room.Guard #1: Leaving the room, yes.King of Swamp Castle: All right?Guard #2: [hiccups]Guard #1: Right. Oh, if, if, if, uh, if, if, uh, if, if, if, we... oh, if... oh...King of Swamp Castle: Look, it's quite simple. You just stay here, and make sure he doesn't leave the room. All right?Guard #2: [hiccups]Guard #1: Oh, I remember, uh, can he leave the room with us?King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no, no, you just keep him in here, and make sure...Guard #1: Oh yeah, we'll keep him in here, obviously, but if he had to leave, and we were with him...King of Swamp Castle: No, just keep him in here...Guard #1: Until you, or anyone else...King of Swamp Castle: No, not anyone else. Just me.Guard #1: Just you.Guard #2: [hiccups]King of Swamp Castle: Get back.Guard #1: Get back.King of Swamp Castle: All right?Guard #1: Right, we'll stay here until you get back.King of Swamp Castle: And make sure he doesn't leave.Guard #1: What?King of Swamp Castle: Make sure he doesn't leave.Guard #1: The prince?King of Swamp Castle: Yes, make sure he doesn't leave.Guard #1: Oh, yes, of course.[Points at Guard #2]Guard #1: I thought you meant him. You know, it seemed a bit daft me I were to guard him when he's a guard.King of Swamp Castle: Is that clear?Guard #2: [hiccups]Guard #1: Oh, quite clear. No problems.King of Swamp Castle: Right.[King of Swamp Castle turns to leave the room, both guards follow him]King of Swamp Castle: Where are you going?Guard #1: We're coming with you.King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no. I want you to stay here and make sure *he* doesn't leave.Guard #1: Oh, I see. Right.

Reading comprehension scores have been stagnant for the past 20 years. The problem isn’t gong to be solved anytime soon. So remember when writing web content, training material or ads about half of your audience will have difficulty understanding your message unless it is written at the Jr. High level.

It was one of those weeks that try your patience and good humor. There was too much to do in too many places in too little time. Although I didn’t know it at the time my troubles began on Valentine’s Day.

My wife and I attended a play in Milwaukee. The woman seated next to me spent most of the first act coughing. She gave me that cough and within a week a new perspective on life.

On the 16th I needed to fly to Nashville to meet with a client. I should have flown from O’Hare but Milwaukee is closer to home. A storm blew through the Midwest that morning. The arriving plane was late then they shut O’Hare down for an hour and a half due to icy runways. I was stuck in Milwaukee with no way to make the Nashville connection in Chicago. I drove home in the snowstorm and took a shuttle bus to O’Hare the following day. I made it to Nashville just in time for the meeting.

I was scheduled to return to Milwaukee on Saturday morning after a night of freezing rain in Nashville. The 50 minutes de-icing delay meant another missed connection in Chicago and another commuter bus ride home. I started coughing Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning I took a bus to O’Hare for a flight to Austin.

Just before take off, the flight attendant announced that Wiley Post was our pilot. For you little leaguers, Wiley Post was a world famous aviator who died in a plane crash in Alaska with American Humorist Will Rogers in 1935. The irony was lost on my co-passengers (I play a killer game of trivial pursuit). Meanwhile my cough went from slight to severe during the 2-hour flight. (Memo to self: If someone starts coughing next to you during a play find another seat.)

My hotel room in Austin wasn’t ready upon my arrival. After a miserable hour-long wait, I collapsed fully clothed under the covers fighting fits of fever, chills and coughing. Had I survived Wiley Post only to die of pneumonia in an Austin hotel room? The next morning I rallied enough to make it through two days of meetings with my fellow Wizard Partners.

I flew home on Wednesday, tired, sick, delayed, dejected and feeling sorry for myself. Things were about to get a whole lot worse.

As we descended into Chicago, my ears popped and I couldn’t hear anything but muffled sounds. I couldn’t hear the engines or make out what the flight attendant asked me (it must have been about water since she brought me another bottle). I couldn’t clear my ears and I was fighting feelings of panic.

Glimpsing a world of silence changes your perspective. Suddenly all of the aggravations from the previous week didn’t mean a thing. Missed airline connections, hour long bus rides, barely made appointments, and looming deadlines really aren’t all that critical after all. You quickly begin to appreciate the little things in life, your home, bed, family, friends, clients and your hearing.

My good friend and fellow Wizard Of Ads® Partner Clay Campbell says that most people are either in trouble, headed for trouble or just getting out of trouble. Until you lose (even temporarily) something you take for granted you don’t really understand what trouble is all about. My hearing slowly returned over the next 8 hours but the lesson still burns brightly.

There will always be another plane or bus coming along to get you where you need to go. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Be safe, stay focused, remember and be thankful for the important things in your life, because you never know when real trouble will come a calling.